Best Beef Birria and Birria Tacos

Beef Birria. Rich and flavorful this beef birria is perfect served as a stew
topped with onion, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. OR chop up
the meat and fry up some Quesabirria tacos! These are the most
FAMOUS Tacos!

Prep Time Cook Time Total Time

20 mins 3 hrs 30 mins 3 hrs 50 mins
5 from 760 votes

Course: Main Course Cuisine: Mexican, Tex Mex

Servings: 8

Calories: 857kcal
Author: Serene

Equipment
large dutch oven

Ingredients
7-8 cups hot water
4 lbs chuck roast cut into 4 large chunks
2 lbs short ribs (bone in) or back ribs bone in
1 large white onion dry skins removed, cut in half crosswise
1 garlic bulb cut the narrow top off, no need to peel
1 carrot cut in half crosswise, then cut in half (4 large pieces of carrot)
5 bay leaves dried
8 guajillo chiles stems cut off and seeds removed
3 tbsp chicken boullion
1-2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp mexican oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)

Quesabirria Tacos
14-16 white corn tortillas
2 cups quesadilla cheese or any good melting cheese

Instructions
1. Combine Ingredients: In large pot add meat, onion, garlic, carrots, bay leaves and dried
peppers. Cover with water. (This uses my large 7 qt pot and fills it to the top!)
2. Add Seasonings: Add chicken bouillon, oregano, cumin and salt, stir to combine. Bring to a
boil.
3. Skim: After 30 minutes, skim the top of the pot to remove impurities from the bone cooking
out. (will look like little bits of foam on the top)
4. Blend Peppers: Remove the peppers (should be softened) and place in a blender or food
processor. Blend until smooth, add up to 1/4 cup of broth if needed to help get a smooth
 consistency. 
5. Strain: Strain the peppers if needed to remove bits of skin (if using a high powered blender
this step is not necessary). 
6. Combine: Add the blended peppers into the broth and stir to combine.
7. Season: Add in the chili powder as desired to get a nice deep red color to the broth. 
8. Simmer: Cover and continue to simmer for about 3 hours or until meat is tender and easily
shredding on it’s own. (remove lid and give a stir every 40 minutes or so. Can also taste the
broth once the meat is cooked through and adjust seasonings as needed).
9. Reserve Grease: Skim the grease from the top of the broth (SAVE THIS!) pour the grease into
a small skillet or saucepan, this is used for making the tacos if desired. 
10. Remove the onion, garlic, carrots, and bay leaves from the broth. (these ingredients were in the
broth for flavoring…people are more than welcome to eat and enjoy them, so save them if you
want!)
11. Serving: Remove the meat from the broth and cut into large chunks for serving. Remove any
bones. 

To Serve as a Stew:
1. Serve a couple pieces of meat into a bowl, spoon broth on top.
2. Top with diced onion and fresh cilantro. Serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze in.

To Make Quesabirria Tacos:

1. Chop Meat: Remove the meat from the broth, and finely chop until only small pieces remain. 
2. Heat a large skillet/griddle over medium heat. 
3. Frying Tortillas: Dip the corn tortilla into the reserved grease from the broth. 
4. Place on heated griddle, top with the chopped meat and cheese. 
5. Fold the taco over and press down with a spatula. Continue cooking until the taco is crisp and
golden on the bottom, about 2-3 minutes. Then flip and continue cooking the other side. (it’s
ok if some of the cheese leaks out while frying, the golden cheese is the best part!) Plus you
can spoon some additional grease onto the tortilla while it cooks if you need more coloring to
the tortilla. 
6. Cook until both sides are crisp. Remove from heat and allow to cool briefly before serving, will
be very hot. 
7. Continue until all tacos are cooked. 
8. Top tacos with fresh cilantro and onion if desired.
9. Serving: Serve with a bowl of the broth topped with onions and cilantro on the side. 
10. Dip the tacos into the broth while eating.

Notes
Meat: bones are needed in this recipe to help create a rich and flavorful broth. You can use
any cut of beef for this recipe needed, just ensure that you have some bones to add to the
broth. 
 Guajillo Peppers: (2,500-5,000 SHU) these are a mild pepper. You can adjust and use other
chiles as desired. My preference is to start with the guajillo and I add Chili powder as needed
as the broth simmers. 
Skimming the broth: boiling the bones releases impurities, after the first 30 minutes of
boiling you can skim off the foam that appears on the top of the soup. 
Taste Adjustments: once the meat is cooked all the way through, towards the end, you can
taste and adjust the broth as needed. 
Cheese: any good melting cheese will work in the tacos. Quesadilla cheese can be found in
the market by the Mexican Cheeses. Other options would be to use Monterey Jack,
Mozzarella or Oaxaca cheese. 
 

Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 857kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 77g | Fat: 51g | Saturated Fat: 25g
| Cholesterol: 269mg | Sodium: 857mg | Potassium: 1232mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A:
2305IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 511mg | Iron: 8mg